A Royal Affair

Staff were deployed at rail and bus stations and at the drop off point in the centre of Windsor to manage queuing and loading.

Our 20
strong team moved
over 6,000 spectators on nearly 100 bus journeys.
We also helped get event staff to and from Windsor Castle.

The challenge

A British prince was marrying an American tv star and the royal town of Windsor was set to be overcome with tens of thousands of enthusiastic and well-wishing fans and celebrity spotters.

Expectations were high and the demand on public transport to get to and from Windsor was predicted to be huge.

First Travel Solutions (FTS) are experts in bespoke transport operations for large scale events and were commissioned by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to provide bus shuttle to connect flag wavers with rail services in and out of Slough.

The biggest challenges the team faced were around planning for unknown numbers and the impact of road closures on bus timings.

The solution

This project was all about multi agency co-ordination and FTS’ ability to plan and deliver a crowd busting operation in conjunction with local councils, Great Western Railway (GWR) and police and security services.

The shuttle service ran between 0630 and 1900 and utilised a dozen or so double decker vehicles from First Group’s depots at Slough and Reading.

Staff were deployed at Slough rail, bus stations and at the drop off point in the centre of Windsor to manage queuing and bus loading.

Big screens were installed at the rail and bus stations so those waiting for buses could keep up to date and involved in the celebrations before their journey.

The result

Everyone got to the wedding on time! Our 20 strong team moved over six thousand spectators on nearly 100 bus journeys. We also provided multiple buses to get event staff to and from Windsor Castle.

Due to the close-knit working of the multi-agency transport group we knew the challenges and prepared resilient and robust plans and timetables. All the buses ran to time and connected spectators with train services either into or out of Slough. Queuing time was very minimal at each location and the day went without a hitch.

FTS were praised for their efforts by Slough Council, the Royal Borough and GWR.